Angle-of-Arrival is showing up in more and more RTLS specs because it hits a sweet spot: high accuracy, simpler tags, and you don’t have to carpet-bomb a site with UWB anchors. In our deployments, the real challenge isn’t “does AoA work?” It’s “can we get 10 cm where it matters, fast, without turning installation into a science project?”

Let’s make it practical. We’ll talk BLE direction finding basics, then the deployment rules that keep install time sane, and finally, how Lansitec’s AoA gateways fit into a real 0.1 m plan.

What 10 cm Accuracy Really Means in BLE AoA Positioning

Bluetooth Direction Finding (AoA/AoD) adds a Constant Tone Extension (CTE) to BLE packets, so a receiver with an antenna array can capture I/Q samples and estimate the signal’s angle from phase differences.

Here’s the part people skip: angle is not the same as position.

To turn angles into coordinates, you need a location engine to fuse measurements from multiple locators (gateways), plus good geometry and calibration. Bluetooth’s own technical overview calls out antenna switching, sampling slots, and HCI configuration as core parts of the system.

So yes, 10 cm is achievable in ideal conditions, but the “ideal” word matters. Nordic’s direction finding material is blunt about this: centimeter-level accuracy can happen, yet real-world RF introduces multipath and other constraints. ⁽¹⁾

BLE AoA Deployment Best Practices for 2026 Installations

If you want 0.1 m in specific zones (dock doors, tool cribs, medical equipment rooms), you need three things. Miss any one, and you’ll chase ghosts for days.

• Geometry you can trust: multiple gateways see the tag from meaningfully different angles.
• RF you can live with: reduce strong reflectors, or at least keep them consistent.
• Calibration you can repeat: short, structured, and done per zone.

Silicon Labs’ direction-finding docs emphasize that antenna switching patterns and configurations matter, and that custom arrays need the right setup to avoid poor angle estimates. ⁽²⁾

Three Deployment Rules That Make or Break AoA Accuracy

1. Mount overhead when you can. Ceiling mounting reduces body shadowing and gives cleaner geometry for tags moving on the floor.
2. Design for overlap, not coverage. “I can hear it” is not “I can locate it.”
3. Calibrate only where you need 10 cm. Don’t pay the 0.1 m tax across the whole site.

Choosing the Right BLE AoA Gateways for Indoor and Outdoor RTLS

Lansitec’s AoA gateway line is built around antenna arrays and practical mounting, with clear limits on install height and coverage radius.

BLE AoA Gateway Selection by Use Case and Accuracy

Gateway	Where it fits	Positioning claim	Mounting limits	Power + enclosure
AG1 Indoor AoA Gateway	Indoor zones, straightforward PoE deployments	“sub-meter accuracy (0.1 m)”	height max 15 m, radius up to 2× height (cap 15 m)	PoE 802.3af or 12–30 V DC, IP66
AG3 Positioning AoA Gateway	Higher-precision indoor RTLS, multi-backhaul sites	0.1–1 m	height max 15 m, radius up to 2× height (cap 15 m)	DC 12–30 V, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, IP66
AG4 Outdoor AoA Gateway	Yards, semi-outdoor, open-air event spaces	0.1 m	height max 30 m, radius up to 2× height (cap 30 m)	PoE 802.3af or 12–30 V DC, IP66

A practical note: Lansitec explicitly ties coverage radius to mount height (up to 2× height, with a hard cap). That’s gold for fast planning, because you can do first-pass layout math without a full RF survey.

How to Achieve 10 cm AoA Accuracy Without Over-Installing Hardware

Optimal Mounting Height for BLE AoA Gateways

• Indoors (AG1/AG3): treat 6–10 m as a “sweet range” when the ceiling allows it. You get better sightlines, and your radius budget stays realistic because Lansitec caps effective radius at 15 m anyway.
• Outdoor (AG4): you can mount higher (up to 30 m), but don’t assume higher always means better accuracy. Higher often means a weaker signal and more reflections off vehicles and fencing.

Gateway Density Planning for Reliable AoA Positioning

For 0.1 m zones, plan locator placement so a tag typically has:

• 3+ strong gateways in view
• wide angle separation between them (avoid all gateways being on the same wall line)
• consistent line-of-sight along the main movement path

This matches how AoA systems work at the spec level: the receiver’s antenna switching and I/Q sampling during CTE drives angle estimates, and the location engine needs multiple good angles to triangulate well. ⁽¹⁾

BLE AoA Calibration Process That Actually Works

If you want 10 cm, you will calibrate. The trick is to calibrate like a production team, not like a research lab.

Silicon Labs’ direction finding notes make the practical point: antenna array configuration and switching patterns matter, and custom setups need correct configuration to avoid bad results. ⁽²⁾

A fast calibration workflow we like:

• Step A: pick 6–12 “truth points” in the 10 cm zone (corners, center, two mid-edges).
• Step B: collect short samples at each point (same tag orientation, same height).
• Step C: validate with a simple walk path (a rectangle loop, 2–3 minutes).
• Step D: lock the config, then move on.

No heroics. No 200-point grids. If the zone fails validation, you fix geometry first (add one locator or shift one), then recalibrate.

Common BLE AoA Accuracy Problems and How to Fix Them

What breaks 0.1 m	What you’ll see	Fast fix (least install pain)
Heavy multipath from metal racks	“Good one minute, awful the next”	Raise locators, add one more locator for angle diversity
Poor geometry (angles too similar)	Errors stretch along one axis	Move one gateway to a different side, don’t just add more on the same wall
Inconsistent tag orientation	Jitter when people carry tags	Use a consistent mounting position (helmet, badge plane, asset bracket)
Rushed calibration	Whole zone biased by 0.3–1 m	Recalibrate with fewer, cleaner truth points

This aligns with the fundamentals: AoA relies on stable phase measurements during CTE and on predictable antenna-switching behavior. Garbage in gives garbage angles out. ⁽¹⁾

Real-World BLE AoA Layout Examples (Indoor vs Outdoor)

Indoor Warehouse AoA Layout for Forklifts and Pallets (AG3)

• Put AG3 locators overhead, target 10–12 m mounting height where possible (within the 15 m max).
• Use the “2× height” radius rule to draft spacing, then tighten density around choke points (dock doors, battery swap area).
• Calibrate only the choke points for 10 cm, run the rest at 0.3–1 m and save time.

AG3 specifically targets high-accuracy indoor positioning, with Bluetooth 5.1, antenna array, and a stated 0.1–1 m accuracy range.

Outdoor AoA Layout for Yards and Open Industrial Sites (AG4)

• Mount AG4 on building edges or poles, keep within the 30 m height limit.
• Expect more RF chaos (vehicles, fences, stacked containers). Plan extra overlap and don’t overpromise 10 cm everywhere.
• Use 10 cm only for “must-not-lose” zones (high-value storage rows, entry gates).

AG4 is built for this: IP66, PoE 802.3af, and an AoA positioning claim “within 0.1 m.”

When BLE AoA Is the Right Choice for 10 cm Accuracy in 2026

AoA in 2026 sits in a rare sweet spot: you can push toward 0.1 m accuracy without turning your site into a UWB construction zone. But AoA only behaves when you treat it like a system, not a spec sheet. You need clean geometry, sensible gateway height and density, and a calibration routine you can repeat without heroics.

Our rule of thumb stays simple. Use Lansitec AoA gateways (AG1/AG3 indoors, AG4 outdoors) where their height and radius constraints make planning predictable, then “buy” 10 cm only in the zones that deserve it. The rest of the site can run happily at sub-meter. Do that, and you’ll hit high accuracy where it matters, while keeping install time and project risk under control.

References and further readings:

1. Bluetooth SIG, Bluetooth Direction Finding: Technical Overview
2. Silicon Labs, QSG175: Direction-Finding Solution Quick-Start Guide